There are those in our county who believe, erroneously, that we don't have a homeless problem here in our rural county of only 50k people. They are, unfortunately, wrong in that assessment. Emmaus Haven has operated the shelter (in cooperation with Venango County Housing) since 2016, and it has been at capacity ever since. How do I know this? In addition to reports from the leadership of Emmaus Haven, I have on numerous occasions tried to help a homeless person sitting here in my office, standing on my porch, or calling me on the phone, only to discover that the shelter is currently full. If someone is telling you that Venango County doesn't have indigenous people suffering from homelessness, in other words, that the only homeless are outsiders (and hence evidently less of our problem), they're wrong, very wrong. We may not have the chronic homelessness visible on the streets of Pittsburgh, but each day in our county there are individuals, and families, without shelter for the coming night, I know it to be true, they come to me for help.
Which leads to the second half of the equation: our obligation to be a part of meeting this real need. As followers of Jesus Christ, servants of the kingdom of God, we have a clear and abiding mandate from Jesus to help those in need whenever, and wherever we can. Each person that we encounter that is in need is a human being made in the image of God, a person of worth beyond measure, and one for whom Jesus Christ was willing to die, just as he was for us. To turn our backs on the homeless, whether through indifference, racism, or some other reasons to dismiss this need, is to fail to be the Church that God has called us to be. We may not be able to solve a problem like homelessness, but we had better be a part of the effort to try.
When this new facility in Siverly opens, it will give Emmaus Haven and the County the flexibility it needs to handle both short and medium term housing problems, bringing into play resources that ten years ago would have seemed beyond our reach as a community. In this we have had willing partners, the hard work of volunteers, and the grace of God.
Do Christians really need to care about those in need? Read the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew, and then get back to me on that one.
Matthew 25:31-46 New International Version (NIV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
